The professionalisation of management in Finland:

Abstract

In this article the professionalisation of top management in Finnish large-scale manufacturing firms provides the focus of attention. The aim is to investigate what characterised the professionalisation process. Besides the shift from owners to salaried managers, it is evident that management become a full-time job, that a more professional attitude among managers emerged and that the division of labour in top management became clearer. The study also shows that professionalisation led to remarkable changes in the managerial profile, that is in the educational and career backgrounds of managers. It is observable that the professionalisation process was closely related to Finnish industrial development, particularly the emergence of the large-scale bureaucratic firm, but also to more general social changes. Finally, such Finnish developments are put into a broader international perspective, the Finnish managerial profile showing some interesting features. For instance, the high level of formal education of the Finnish business elite at an early stage of industrialisation is striking.